***

It wasn’t hard for Eli to hang his head low. He was looking at the glow of the holograms before him, more than the symbols they represent and now in charge of.

“A couple men died. Hundreds trying to fight against an affliction never before seen in this world and is steadily losing. Cries of mass exodus from not only your little city, but across the world. And the greatest man who could’ve handled the job is days away from being dead. Good show, entertainer. No one will forget this for a long time.”

Eli looked up, to the many symbols that surrounded him. The Extant symbol, a circle that resembled a globe, lines branching out of the center and sprawling out of the logo with mini circle ends. Each mini circle represented a country, with the main Head’s origin blown up under the logo, decorated by flag.

“You must understand that most of that wasn’t my doing,” Eli brought up. He noted how weak his tone was. Even if one were right about something, if you never sounded like you were, no one would believe you.

“And yet you were the one to stoke the flames, both times due to your ego,” Diami’s voice echoed throughout the chamber, disembodied but her tone clear and present. “You were the one that didn’t help our crumbling image when he addressed your people weeks ago, and you had the gall to activate a concept that we always talked about being a last resort, only used if and only if the entire world was about to break apart. Not only have we failed once again, we’ve failed to protect—now we’re a problem.”

The weight of the world forced Eli’s head back down again. Gritting his teeth to make himself hurt, for stupidly harming said world once again. Promises and fresh starts meaning precious little.

“Welcome to being head of the problem, sir,” Arthur blandly quipped. “The Masters are coming and might have a speech prepared, but we all know what’s going to happen. Evac ferries are starting to doc at your port. And I say this sincerely as your new partner. I hope you choke on the dust of your ruined works, Ozzy. So we can actually find someone fit for this job. Follow up adjourned.”

Soon, he was plunged into darkness. And even with the Enforcers opening the vault to fetch him, he still couldn’t see anything. Not like he used to.

As he walked the empty halls, he could just glance about—being able to come up with something based on what he say, or overlay his experiences to make the things he saw work all the better. Adding more function, adding more possibly, adding something to this sad and pathetic world.

But as he walked by the Nexus, and only seeing the tenth of the staff there he saw days ago—desperately determined, desperately lashing out at the other co-workers, just desperate. He knew that he added more reasons for the world to continue being sad and pathetic.

Disembodied, he was hurried into his suite—or rather a suite belonging to a man more deserving. So much so, that his paper flies, photos of his military career and connections, and even a rack for wheel chair repairs were still there.

He slumped into the desk, and looked around.

He proceeded to put his head in his hands.

He had no idea what to do.

***

Maddie caught the basketball that was aimed for her head, right before her Montgomery barked at the little shits stirring the usual shit.

As Maddie tuned out the barking and held a decent but effortless grip on Monty’s leash, she took in the Dudley kids, who were laughing and backing up on the street. One was 14, the other 12, and the last 10—often in wife-beaters and jean shorts, covered in bandages and their head matted in various ways. They all had the same shit-eating grins, even sharing the two missing teeth despite at different areas. They were problem childs, but nothing serious. Especially since Rhoda, their working mom, had little patience for foolishness when she got off of work.

Maddie smirked back at them, “Yeah, you do know that I can chuck this and hit y’all upside the heads at once now, right?”

The brothers shared a look, making gasps of fear—but an excited variant. Now that Maddie Solomon, who ruffled them enough while she was normal, has superpowers they can mess with her to get her to use.

“You don’t know how to use it anyways!” Dwayne Dudley—the 10 year old shit—spat back, giggling afterwards.

Maddie tossed the ball up and down one handed. “Don’t I? Don’t I really?”

Maddie didn’t really put too much thought into it. She siVis’d her arm, aimed towards the ground and bounced the ball, causing it to skyrocket into the air. And it had no signs of coming back.

The Dudleys freaked out, screaming in awe, running in place or back or up the streets, jumping in disbelief as well.

Maddie laughed, which finally caused her black and rust-colored, old Rottweiler lab to calm down. He panted, as that continuous bark took a lot out of the guy, in his twilight years. He craned his head towards her and she bent her legs and petted him graciously, which he very much enjoyed—tail becoming a blur.

“THEY DIDN’T NEED THAT BALL ANYMORE ANYWAYS” a gravely voice from afar cut into the boys’ prancing. Somehow, despite being old as fuck, that woman’s voice somehow still carried across the place.

It was funny, seeing them freeze in place. And not even looking at each other, they bolted to go into their project house, racing up the stone walkaway, up the steel stairs until they tore open the already broken automatic door. Practically kicking up dust as they booked.

Maddie got up, looking at the other old folks laughing at the display, sitting on the sidewalk and the lawn of the project met, in various lawnchairs. Eight in number, having beer boxes at their feet, smoke clouds hovering over them as multiple took a puff at the same times, almost.

Opposite of the street, Maddie continued down to the broken down and cracked sidewalk of her neighborhood, walking in front of the flat lawn of the one who truly watches over it.

“You never thanked me, little missy,” the voice continued, directed at Maddie. “Much less talked to me—both times you ended up in the hospital.”

Maddie shook her head, “Grandma—you know for a fact that I was knocked cold for both of those things—”

“You’re up and talking and walking right now, what’s the excuse? You run that mouth so much, but you can’t spare me any rest? I only got the one heart and it’s fucking up, I can’t worry about you 24/7!”

“The only thing you were worried about was telling me how stupid I was for doing what I did—” Maddie smirked and raised her free hand’s finger up.

“YOU’RE DAMN RIGHT,” the voice bellowed, causing the men to laugh uproarishly and still managing to be louder than that. “THAT’S THE ONLY WHAT YOU CRAZY ASS KIDS LEARN NOWADAYS!”

Maddie closed her eyes in mirth, practically cackling, stomping her foot lightly in reaction.

“Everyone seeing your ass ugly laugh too, I hope you know that girl—”

“Aaah…” the girl wiped the beads that formed at the ends of her eyes, “To be fair, Mrs. Goddard—if you were there when all that shit happened, we’d be talking a different conversation right now, so as always…”

“I’m right, yeah,” the ancient lady said triumphant. She had an underbite, giving her a pounced chin that tied together her stern face, and the deep lines that decorated it. Bags under her eyes, but her eyes still were vibrant, staring one down right to their soul. Her hair was in a bun, but white and brown locks covered her brow and ears. She practically held her cane like some scepter, pretty much confirming to any dense fuck that she ran this place and has so for years, if the other signs like her yelling and cursing at you didn’t get through somehow. It was hard to see what she was wearing, as she was behind her screen door and window protected patio space that is also still going on strong somehow, giving her a grey sheen due to it.

“I’m still waiting for that thank you; I didn’t have Ed and Rosco break into your house to feed that dog when you and Frank were gone for nothing! Poor thing could’ve starved to death, especially because he started doing that freaky ass thing animals do during Shifts!”

“Now that, yeah, thanks Grandma,” Maddie nodded, as that thought hit her. “I could—Yeah, I can’t front with that at all. Yeah—no, right, no, yeah, thanks.”

“How you gonna thank someone for breaking into your house…?” Maddie heard Buck from 240 say to the other oldheads. Taking Mrs. Goddard’s heat, perfect timing as she needed to get away and go to the house right now.

“bECAUSE REGARDLESS, IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO, BUCKWHEAT--!” Mrs. Goddard began to rave and rant, Maddie heard the chorus of laughs and hollering behind her as she walked away silently.

She walked down the broken-up sidewalk, with Monty following in tow. She saw the regulars, nodded to them in acknowledgement as they said her name and welcomed her back. She passed the housing on her left and the project spaces on her right, until they both stopped abruptly.

Now in the realm of the Splinterbush Marketplace, there were convenience and dollar stores, and fast-food places on both sides of her, the waft of cooked meats in grease hit her as it always has.

And there before her, literally in the middle of both on her side of the street, was the Laundromat that she called home, as Monty doubly confirmed as he went in his burst of mania—happy to be home after a long walk while Maddie always felt bitter.

She dug into her pocket, and started to whistle at the one jerking her forward constantly, “Heyheyhey, dum-dum, let me get the keys first and you can lay your dum-dum butt down, alright~?”

Monty immediately obeyed, panting again, immediately forgetting that he’s getting older, which Maddie sighed wistfully at. She got her set of keys, and proceeded to unlock the door.

She walked in and locked the various locks back again, walking across the still polished floors as Monty walked towards where she was. Crossing the various machines that makes Frank his profit, the duo walked up to the small gate that closes off their living spaces. Three paths: the forward path was Monty’s room, a huge open space for him with his pads, toys and center bed right there as he needed, and that he did as once Maddie moved the gate, he went towards his bed and laid, curling up. On the right and upstairs, was Frank’s room.

And as Maddie went towards the left, and down, she went into the basement. Which is her room.

Creaking down the wooden steps, there before her was another massive empty space. Used to have something, but it’s been long gone now. She continued to walk past it, her small room right next to it, singled with a broken wooden door that she had to turn the knob of, but lift it up so it can properly open.

Everything was dark, but since it was still the day, it was only gray shaded in places with rays of light coming in. TV, bed, dressers, and that was mainly it. The only thing of note was the stack of CDs and various headphones in different areas. Maddie looked at this display, and sighed.

“And here I thought this thing was gonna help me, not tell me that I’m still shit,” Maddie spat, as she prowled toward her bed, sitting on it while looking down at her concrete flooring.

“At the end of the day, Solomon, you continue to fuck everything up for yourself, huh? Every single fucking time. You came a problem to someone and all you could think about was you being a fucked up dog owner? A woman like that, a true fucking woman at that, has a million other shit to take care of, like keeping her street safe—and she had to worry about your damn dog that you abandoned.”

She cut herself off, as she heard the racket that Monty was getting up to above her head. She proceeded to look back down, slapping her forehead to finish.

"Look at you. Dogs don't throw their own pity parties; don't go into monologue--you are and for what? Getting your arm broken? People are growing teeth out of their cuts and bleeding out and you fucking cry over that, Maddie? The fuck is wrong with you?”

She stewed, turned about in the building rage within her, to the point of her hand that rested on her brow went to cover her eyes as she continued.

“Get mad, get hard--because that's what fucking matters in the end. But you can't, can you?”

She started to breath heavily, practically feeling the hot air that had to escape for the sake of her health, but continued to heave it back in.

“Everyone. Every. Single. Person. In this world has the most rotten, foulest shit on them. They whine, they cry about it—and of course they fucking do all of that, it’s fucking shit. But you know what they do? They deal. They move the fuck on, because they know that the moment they fucking sit in that shit, it’s over. No one wants to go near your because you fucking smell and you can’t move because you’re covered in it. And you’re still fucking covered in yours.”

She begun clapping her hands, “"Who cares if you feel sad--who the fuck cares if you hurt, no one fucking cares about that shit anymore, they move on and they move on without you.” Then she clutched at her fist. “And yet you can’t fucking do it! Again, what’s with you, Solomon?”

Maddie just settled her elbows into her lap, letting her head hang low, with her clutched together hands raised above it.

“Could you ever do anything, Maddie? Honest question. You were a problem at birth, you were a problem growing up—and the time where everyone told you to get straight, to finally not fuck anything up, and you struggle with that too. You can continue fucking up, but guess what? You know what happens when you don't know anything about the world--it kills you the first chance it gets.”

She started to sniffle, and growl at herself for it.

“She literally did nothing but play outside--but did those fucks trying to rob some dipshit across the street care about being trigger happy? Fuck no.”

It was harder to stay mad, harder to stay focused, as she began to weep.

“And there you go fucking crying…again; when your dumbass parents…are all the more hurt by this than you… Way to make everything your fucking problem... And congrats for being a failure, that you can’t fucking grow up… What's WRONG with you, Maddie?”

She heard the door creak, and she didn’t bother lifting her head to see, swimming in her sorrow. As she sobbed, Monty poked his head and laid it on her lap. Whimpering in concern.

Maddie held him and felt terrible for doing so.

***

Diana stared at the Aethernet broadcast of the news, tapping on her arm impatiently as she waited for the comments about her to surface. She immediately swiped the screen away when it was clear they were focusing on Davenport screwing up and the state of the world.

She spun back towards her cluttered desk in her cluttered pod of an office. One could barely see the sleek plating of it anymore, covered in awards, covered in medal achievements, covered in many places of the world thanking her… Which are in turned covered by her notes and research, physical paper and Aether construction.

“Well, on one hand… They’re too busy going on about how I have siVis than me slipping up,” Diana admitted herself. “But fuck me, there’s other words and people than Davenport. He fubbed a fucking speech, we’re nearing the end—big whoop.”

She spun in her hoverchair, her arm drapped over it as she sneered up to the ceiling, or the white void that isn’t one.

“All this fucking progress and favor, and I’m back to being a siVis user, literally rungs down. I guess for one, I don’t need these fucking contacts anymore—”

After stating such, she pulled her fingers into her eyes abruptly, and pulled out the clear lens. As she blink out the biological reaction of tears, she looked at a mirror on her desk that she keeps.

It’s been awhile, looking at her puzzle, ring coated eyes.

“…Second thought,” Diana mused. “They’re gonna make connects to those dregs of society and then I’ll be truly fucked as a result. Maybe I don’t have to throw everything away.”

She bashed her fist into the desk in anger.

“After all that, after fucking years of pulling myself out of the gutter and I still come up with nothing! The Homers went AWAL, Extant is a joke, I’m working with a pariah will soon-to-be pariah myself…! No! I’m not going to let all of this shit ruin everything I’ve worked for! If I had half a mind, I’d trigger--!”

Diana caught herself. No. Nononono. She’s not angry enough to pull that. That’s the last resort pull. Plus, she would have to get everything right and ready during a time where everyone’s now looking towards the thing that’ll end everything.

She shook her head, closing her eyes with a pained face.

“…And I’m sure that this’ll become ammo for the boy and girl if we ever see each other again. I’m sure of it… If they even care anymore.”

There was a sudden ringing that her room created, making her jump. She cursed, and toggled the button to receive the emergency call.

***